


Live In Concert

by sapphire_child



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Lost
Genre: Crossover, F/M, Gen, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Drug Use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-03-02
Updated: 2009-03-18
Packaged: 2019-01-27 23:23:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12592856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphire_child/pseuds/sapphire_child
Summary: Desmond isn’t the only time traveler that Charlie Pace ran into during his time as a rock star. Two different Doctors and two different reasons bring Rose Tyler into his life.





	1. Chapter 1

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/155122168@N03/37167470922/in/album-72157688618079026/)

“Rose Tyler – what in the whole wide universe are you listening to?”

Rose grinned up at Jack from her upside-down vantage point. He was lounging in her doorway, all cocky and teasing. With the blood rushing to her head making her distinctly light headed and the absurdity of Jack’s stance from her position it was making her overly giggly.

“DriveShaft,” she waved the CD case lazily at him and Jack smirked.

“Gee – phallic much?”

“Oh you love it,” Rose poked her tongue out at him and then rolled onto her stomach. “S’a British band. My friend Mickey used to love them. Went to loads of their concerts back in the day.”

“He ever take you?”

Rose pulled a face. “Tried once but I wasn’t eighteen yet and my fake ID was a bit dodgy.”

“We should go!” Jack said, pulling her to her feet enthusiastically. “I’m in the mood for some more dancing.”

“They aren’t exactly a dance band,” Rose eyed the beaten up CD player she had scavenged from her bedroom back home on their last trip to the Powell Estate. “More like, ‘let’s all go and head bang in the mosh pit till we’re sick’.”

“I like head banging,” Jack said amiably as he began to drag her out of the room. “Although maybe I’d better leave my hat here.”

“And your braces,” Rose added with a laugh as they pounded down the TARDIS corridors hand in hand. “And your coat. Fact most of your clothes aren’t right for a 21st century bar. You’d probably get beaten up!”

“Ha!” Jack laughed as they emerged into the control room where the Doctor was attending to the central column with something that looked suspiciously like glass cleaner. “I’d like to see them try!”

“You two training for a marathon?” the Doctor raised an eyebrow at their flushed faces. “Mind you don’t trip over and block the corridors if you’re going to be beltin’ around in here all the time.”

“Doctor I wanna go see DriveShaft,” Rose wheedled, bounding up to him eagerly and all but bouncing next to him as she tugged his sleeve. “Please? Pleasepleasepleaseplease?”

“Driveshaft?” the Doctor grinned suddenly even as he stowed the glass cleaner away. “Thought that idiot boyfriend of yours would’ve shown you one by now. He’s a mechanic isn’t he?”

“Hold up – Rose’s boyfriend is a mechanic?” Jack piped up, all agog.

“He’s not my boyfriend and I don’t wanna look at cars,” Rose wrinkled her nose. “I know what a driveshaft _is_. I meant the _band_...”

“A terrible band,” Jack chimed in helpfully.

“...and I – shush! – I never got to go and see ‘em cause I was never old enough so can we go and see them? Pleasepleaseplease?”

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “When and where?”

“The band split up at the end of 2003 but I dunno where they played. Oh! Except for this one gig that I wasn’t allowed into,” Rose explained hopefully.

“Great,” the Doctor grumbled and turned his attention to the console. “Sometime before 2003 –that really narrows it down.”

After a moment of frosty silence Rose spoke up again falteringly.

“So are we gonna go or...?”

“Yeah if you ever shut up and let me figure out when and where this lot played.”

More silence. Rose caught Jack’s eye uncertainly and then tried to fight back her giggles at his expression.

“DriveShaft,” the Doctor muttered eventually. “What sort of a name is that for a band?”

Rose snorted. “What sort of name is ‘The Doctor’?”

“Ooh!” Jack grinned. “Snap!”

“How about February 3rd 2003. London.” the Doctor said suddenly. “That was just after they released their second album.” Turning to her, his mouth twitching he added, “That isn’t the one you got kicked out of was it?”

Rose flushed. “No that was...that was in 2002.”

“So you were what – sixteen?” as Rose’s blush deepened the Doctor began to chuckle. “No wonder they didn’t let you in! Honestly.”

“I would’ve let you in,” Jack said loyally. “I would’ve snuck you round the back and pretended you were the little sister of one of the band members.”

“What, and gotten the place fined for allowing an underage child onto the premises?” the Doctor scoffed. “Remind me to never hire you as a bouncer – you’d let all the good looking girls in and turn everyone else away.”

“And boys,” Jack corrected him. “Can’t leave any of the pretty boys outside in the cold now can we?”

“S’pose not,” the Doctor said, beginning his usual mad dance around the console. “Well, off we go then!”

And with a crank of a lever the time rotor began to undulate and before Rose quite knew it she was being escorted to the front of the VIP line.

“You’ll fit right in here won’t you?” she tugged on the Doctor’s leather sleeve as they passed a group of leather clad youths.

“No way,” Jack flashed her a toothy grin, all but swaggering his way down the red carpet. More than a few eyes followed him as he went – and not all female either Rose noticed. “He’s _way_ too old for this sort of crowd.”

“Oi!”

“Tickets please,” the bouncer grunted, eyeing them up like a triage of rare steaks.

“Here y’go,” the Doctor said cheerfully, flashing his psychic paper. “Three of us on the paper, three of us here.”

The bounced stared at the paper for a good thirty seconds before grunting again.

“ID?”

The Doctor’s smile wavered. “Do I _look_ like I’m under eighteen?”

“For her,” the bouncer nodded at Rose and she looked indignant.

“Oh no need for ID for her,” the Doctor said cheerfully. “I’m her consenting guardian.”

The bounced glanced at Rose then back at the Doctor. “Don’t look like her dad.”

“Takes after her mother,” the Doctor said baldly, the cheerful grin stretched over his face belying the coiled tension underneath. “Can we go in now please?”

The bouncer eyed him off for another few seconds and then grunted again and let them past.

“What was all that about?” Rose hissed when they were out of earshot. “Consentin’ guardian! What’s Jack then? My bodyguard?”

“Only if you want me to be honey,” Jack winked at her and Rose hit him on the arm.

The Doctor ignored their spat as they made their way inside. “Exclusive event this one,” he said proudly as they pressed their way through the throngs of people who had already arrived. The heavy thudding of the support bands bassist was already thrumming through the speakers, accompanied by the slightly off key whining of the lead singer, the clatter of a drum kit and the scream of an electric guitar. “Pretty small venue for a rock concert – only caters for about eight hundred all up so limited tickets see?”

“I’m going to the bar,” Jack decided, eyes following a gaggle of mini-skirted girls who were headed that way.

“Not on your own you’re not,” the Doctor said putting a firm hand onto Jack’s shoulder. “You get lost in this crowd we’ll never find you again.”

“Aw shucks,” Jack said, batting his eyelashes at the Doctor. “You do care!”

The Doctor shrugged but his large ears were turning pink – a sure fire sign that he was embarrassed.

“Just don’t need anyone getting stuck in the wrong timeline is all. Don’t suppose you got any money on you?” he appealed to Rose. “I think I’m going to need a drink if I’m going to be expected to listen to this sort of music all night.”

“Course I’ve got money,” Rose rolled her eyes for Jack’s benefit as she dug in her back pocket for her crumpled collection of bills. “He’s a bloody cheapskate you know – I always pay for everything.”

“Hey now, it’s hard being a time traveller out of your time,” Jack admonished. “Even worse when it’s a completely different planet.”

By the time they’d shared a packet of salt and vinegar crisps between the three of them and finished their first round of drinks the support band had finished and DriveShaft’s roadies were busily setting up the bands equipment for them.

The opening riff of ‘You All Everybody’ caught Rose by surprise. “Oh!” she said. “I love this song! I’m gonna go dance!”

“You do that,” the Doctor said, unconcernedly knocking back the first draught of his second drink.

Rose frowned at him and then turned appealingly to Jack. “What about you?”

“I might just get another drink too,” he said but just as Rose was getting ready to roll her eyes at the both of them and make a huffy exit, Jack brought his lips close to her ear so the Doctor couldn’t hear. “I’ll see if I can’t get the Doctor to loosen up a bit for you.”

Pulling back, Rose tried not to grin as Jack rejoined the Doctor and slung an overly casual arm around his shoulders. Unfortunately she had more important business to attend to. She pushed through the crowds until she became dazzled by the bright stage lights. From there she moved mainly by touch, sneaking through miniscule gaps between people even as the heavy bass notes rippled through the crowd.

Eventually she managed to squeeze her way down to the second row, getting more than her fair share of bumps and bruises as she went. The mosh pit was already going off, a seething mess of girls in miniskirts and boys in sweat-soaked shirts. Rose suddenly felt quite self-consciously overdressed as she was buffeted to and fro. She hadn’t had a chance to change out of her jeans and Union Jack t-shirt yet. Trying not to let it bother her too much, she joined in singing at the first chorus and did some jumping up and down of her own, waving her arms like a mad thing.

As she did so however, she suddenly felt someone’s eyes on her and she looked up to see the bass player staring avidly at her. He was a young man, probably not much older than Rose really, and his blonde tipped hair was gelled into a look of carefully ruffled casualness. From his denim and leather attire, the thick lines of black surrounding his startling blue eyes and the chipped black nail polish he sported, he looked every part the rock star.

And he was staring right at her.

Rose blushed deeply at the expression on his face before glancing carefully around to see if he was actually looking at someone else. He wasn’t. When she looked up again he caught her eye yet again, and grinned widely before tipping her a huge wink.

Rose grinned back and then waved up at him. The bassist went back to playing with an overzealous amount of gusto and she laughed out loud and danced her way enthusiastically through to the end of the song.

Throughout the rest of the first half of their set the bassist kept his eye on her, grinning when he caught her watching him and toasting her with his water bottle between songs. Rose blushed every time and did her best to keep dancing and singing along. Seemingly encouraged, he played up even more to her which created some raised eyebrows from the rest of the band.

When the band disappeared backstage for a short break between sets, Rose waved goodbye to the bassist (he waved back and grinned again) and then all but skipped back to the bar to find the Doctor and Jack.

Jack it seemed was getting very close to sozzled. He was chattering away animatedly to a small group of enraptured young girls and was surrounded by dozens of empty glasses. The Doctor in comparison seemed very much in control. He was watching Jack with a bemused air and he even grinned at Rose as she joined him.

“Hello,” he said pushing a sweat soaked strand of hair out of her face. “Nice to see you haven’t forgotten about me yet. You having fun?”

“I think the bass player knows me from somewhere,” Rose announced, stealing the Doctor’s drink and taking a pull from it. “Ugh – beer? Didn’t think you were the sort.”

The Doctor scoffed and took it back from her. “Better than some of the other rubbish they serve in human bars. And what d’you mean the bass player knows you?”

“Well I was dancing in front of the stage and then he looked right at me,” Rose explained. “And he had the weirdest expression on his face like...like maybe he’d seen me somewhere before or something. And then we had this...” she paused, feeling strangely giddy. “Moment...”

“Oh a moment?” the Doctor said dryly, taking another pull from his drink. “How lovely for you both.”

“Shut up,” Rose could feel herself blushing again and she toyed with an abandoned coaster that lay on the bar. “Doctor?”

“Mmn?”

“I was thinking maybe...could we go backstage afterwards?”

“S’pose we can,” the Doctor said. “Why? So you can ask him how he knows you?”

“Yeah,” Rose said eagerly and then added hastily. “Well mainly so I can get an autograph for Mickey...”

“S’pose we can,” the Doctor said again then glanced over at Jack. “Should we bring him too? I don’t much fancy having to chase all over London looking for him in the morning. ‘Specially if he’s got a half dozen girls in his bed.”

“Oh go on let him have his fun,” Rose teased. “He nearly got blown up not long ago. Remember?”

“Yeah I remember,” the Doctor retorted. “I saved his life!”

“ _We_ saved his life,” Rose corrected. “You never would’ve gone back if I hadn’t asked.”

“Would too.”

“Would not.”

“Would too!”

“You know,” Rose folded her arms across her chest. “For someone who’s nine hundred years old you can be pretty childish when you want to be.”

The Doctor grinned. “It’s a gift.”

Rose grinned back then glanced at Jack. “He’ll be alright by himself for a while yeah?”

The Doctor shrugged and took another sip of his drink. “Probably.”

“Well,” Rose said, slyly offering her hand. “Are you gonna come and enjoy this concert with me or not?”

The Doctor considered her, a barely suppressed smile on his face and then he shook his head, laughed, then took her proffered hand and allowed her to lead him into the crowds of bopping, gyrating bodies.

“Not really my sor’ of crowd,” he leant down to say in her ear as they came to a standstill. “Or my sor’ of music for that matter.”

“Too bad,” Rose turned and slid her hands around his neck, a crafty smile on her face as she began to sway. “Tell you what – you can choose the next place we go.”

“Oh thank _god_!” the Doctor all but groaned. “This music is _terrible_.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Desmond isn’t the only time traveler that Charlie Pace ran into during his time as a rock star. Two different Doctors and two different reasons bring Rose Tyler into his life.

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/155122168@N03/37167470922/in/album-72157688618079026/)

“What d’you mean you won’t let us in?” the Doctor demanded, flabbergasted.

“Your names not on the list mate,” the bouncer said simply.

“But I’ve got...” he brandished the psychic paper angrily but Rose spoke over him, plastering the widest smile she could muster onto her face.

“We just wanna go in for a minute,” she said beseechingly. “It won’t take long. You can even escort me in and out or whatever – I just need to see the bassist real quick.”

“Nothing doing miss,” the bouncer said, folding his rather large forearms over each other.

“Now hold on a minute here,” the Doctor was really beginning to get stroppy now. He shook the psychic paper at the bouncer and jabbed a finger at it. “Hold on, hold on. This piece of paper right here in my hand says that Rose Tyler and two guests can enter the backstage area...”

“I don’t care what your fancy bit of paper says,” the bouncer interrupted him. “Your names aren’t on the list. That means you don’t come in.”

“Oh it doesn’t matter,” Rose muttered finally, tugging at the Doctor’s sleeve. “Let’s just go. We should be gettin’ Jack back to the TARDIS anyway...”

Still scowling, the Doctor hoisted the semi-comatose Jack more securely into his arms and went to turn away but then...

“Rose! Wait!”

Rose frowned in confusion as the bassist appeared out of nowhere, a wide smile on his face.

“Rose,” he said breathlessly before appealing to the bouncer. “She’s cool man – let her in yeah?”

Rose stepped forward, edging around the bouncer tentatively but to her great surprise the bassist grasped her hand firmly and pulled her through into the mash of the backstage party.

“Hang on – what about my friends?” she shouted over the noise and the bassist looked a little disappointed.

“You bring that spiky haired bloke again?”

“Jack?” Rose asked, confused but the bassist was already resignedly letting the Doctor through, half carrying Jack.

“Thanks,” the Doctor said sourly. “I’m the Doctor and this lump here’s Jack an’ this is...”

“Rose Tyler,” the bassist interrupted him. “I know.”

“Ah,” the Doctor said. Silence – and then... “...and you are?”

“Charlie,” he said, looking a little peeved. “Charlie Pace. I play bass.”

“Sorry,” the Doctor said bluntly, not sounding very apologetic at all. “Don’t know much about your little operation – I’m only here because Rose wanted to come.”

Charlie didn’t look very impressed at this admission but even as Rose began to apologise for him the Doctor spoke up again.

“You lot from Manchester then?”

“Originally yeah,” Charlie looked somewhat appeased. “Started out at the Night and Day Bar.”

“Ahhh!” the Doctor said, as though this explained everything. “Good old Oldham Street.”

Charlie latched onto this piece of information with interest. “So you’re from my neck of the woods then?”

“Bit further north,” the Doctor said dryly.

“Heh, yeah. Very north...” Jack managed to slur out and Rose elbowed him.

“Lancashire?” Charlie guessed, apparently having not heard Jack.

“Something like that,” the Doctor said cheerfully and then nodded down at Jack who was swaying slightly, his eyes mostly closed. “Don’t suppose there’s anywhere back here I could get a glass of water for my friend is there?”

“Sure,” Charlie stretched up on his toes and pointed to the other side of the room. “Bottled water’s on the catering table – that way. Make sure you get one that hasn’t been opened though.”

“Right,” the Doctor hoisted Jack a bit straighter and then looked pointedly at Rose. “I’ll be back,” he told her and then turned to the man who was still hanging limply over his arm. “Let’s go get you a bit sobered up shall we? Come on.”

Jack groaned slightly in response as the Doctor began to drag him off.

“What’s he on?” Charlie asked with interest as they watched the Doctor manhandle Jack through the crowd.

“I think he’s just had too much to drink,” Rose said, embarrassed. “He was tryin’ to outdrink the Doctor.”

Charlie raised his eyebrows. “‘The Doctor’? What the hell sort of name’s that? Sounds like a rubbish sort of nickname.”

“Well he’s really good at...” Rose struggled to find some reasoning that Charlie might buy. “Fixing...things?”

“You’re telling this story luv,” Charlie motioned at one of the sofas not currently being occupied by various rowdy members of the band and their hangers on. “Sit?”

“Yeah my feet are killing me,” Rose gratefully took the spot next to him but Charlie didn’t say anything for a long time. Instead he merely stared at her, occasionally taking a pull from a beer that he seemed to have magicked out of thin air. “ _What_?” Rose demanded finally. His constant attention was unnerving her.

“You look really...” he considered her a moment longer, searching for the right word. “Young,” he finally decided upon. “With your hair all long like that.”

“It was short when we met?” Rose tried not to make it sound too much like a question.

“Shorter and straighter,” Charlie said, still puzzling at her. “And you were just as bloody enigmatic then as you are now.”

Rose blushed. “I...don’t really know what that means.”

“Means you’re interesting,” Charlie supplied, accentuating his point by gesturing at her with his beer and winking. “And mysterious.”

Rose flushed even deeper as he smiled at her – fondly she thought – and his eyes crinkled in the corners in much the same way that the Doctor’s did. Despite Charlie’s crooked jaw and snub nose, he really was quite good looking Rose thought absently. His eyes were startlingly blue up close too, especially with the dark smudges of eyeliner outlining them...

“You know I never forgot what you said to me?” Charlie said softly and Rose startled out of her reverie. She actually had to lean forward in order to hear him properly. “Not in all these years. And you were absolutely right. I’ve seen so many amazing places on tour and it’s been brilliant...”

“Baby brother!”

Rose jumped back as a set of lanky arms appeared over the back of the couch and enveloped her counterpart in a half nelson that was obviously intended to be a hug.

“Liam!” Charlie said tersely, struggling with the man behind him. “Get off me you idiot!”

“Right, right sorry. Who’s this?” Liam asked. His eyes fixed blearily on Rose and he startled clumsily when he saw her shirt. “Whoa! Great T-shirt!”

Rose plucked at the hem of it uncertainly. “Thanks?”

“We should’ve had T-shirts like that on our drive across America tour!” Liam said, jaw dangling lopsidedly as he openly ogled the Union Jack design. “That’s brilliant that is! Where’d you get it?”

“I dunno,” Rose admitted shooting a desperate glance at Charlie. “Can’t remember now.”

“This is my brother,” Charlie explained, finally managing to detangle himself from Liam’s stranglehold with great embarrassment. “Liam this is Rose.”

Liam reached a sweaty hand over and Rose took it briefly. “You’ve got gorgeous eyes,” he slurred, leaning right forward and leering at her. His breath reeked of stale beer and Rose shrank back a little, trying to pull her hand out of his tight grasp. “I’ll bet you’ve got a nice arse too. Do you?”

“Liam,” Charlie said sharply as Rose began to burn with embarrassment. “Stop being a git and bugger off would you?”

Liam stared at Rose a moment longer before turning back to his younger brother. Charlie looked absolutely livid. “Yeah alright,” Liam mumbled, finally pulling away. Rose surreptitiously wiped her hand on her jeans. “I got it right? She’s your shag not mine. I’ll just piss off then...”

And with that he ambled off back into the crowd, weaving drunkenly through a group of scantily clad girls and leaving an awkward silence hanging between the two he’d left behind.

“Sorry about him,” Charlie muttered, touching his hair self consciously and avoiding her eyes. “He’s not usually that much of a wanker.”

“S’alright,” Rose said but just at that moment, there was a sudden roar from the crowd and the Doctor came rushing back supporting a decidedly green tinged Jack Harkness.

“I think we need to get Jack back to the TARDIS...” he began tersely and then paused as Jack bent over double and vomited in a rather spectacular fashion all over the floor, splashing the Doctor’s boots. All present grimaced and then the Doctor offered Charlie a tight smile. “Nice to meet you Charlie Pace. Sorry to cut this short but we really must dash. Rose?” he turned to her.

“I’ll meet you outside in a mo’,” Rose told him quickly.

“Be quick would you?” the Doctor said in desperately clipped tones as he hauled Jack bodily towards the door. “I really can’t stand the smell of human sick...”

“So who exactly are those two then?” Charlie said and Rose turned to see him frowning after her companions. “They’re a bit...off.”

“They’re my friends,” Rose said, somewhat defensively. Charlie raised an eyebrow at that and she shrugged defiantly. “We sort of...travel together.”

“Interesting company for a bird your age,” Charlie observed with a wry grin. “Especially that Doctor bloke. Didn’t think you were that sort.”

Rose flushed. “Oh,” she said. “No it’s not like...we’re not...”

“It’s alright,” Charlie grinned cheekily. “Not like I haven’t gone for older birds before. Or two at once for that matter.”

“Look...I’m really sorry but I’ve got to go,” Rose apologised quickly, trying to hide her rapidly darkening blush. “Sorry. Wish I could stay.”

“Yeah,” Charlie said heavily. “Never mind though. D’you need someone to walk you guys to your car or the tube or something? I’d offer but...well I’d probably get mobbed by fans looking for autographs and pictures and stuff.”

Rose giggled momentarily at the mental image of one of the bouncers walking them back to the TARDIS and watching it dematerialise. But then she suddenly remembered part of the reason she had wanted to come backstage in the first place and a crafty smile spread across her face.

“Actually,” she said, linking her arms with his. “I was wondering if you could do something for me...”

~*~

  
Lunch in Cardiff had become a rather rowdy affair – especially with Jack constantly taking the floor and regaling them all with cautionary tales from his days as a con man. But when Mickey started banging on about the latest band he was keen on Rose squealed so suddenly and so loudly that all three men with her froze.

“Oh my God I can’t believe I forgot to tell you!” she said excitedly. “You’ll never _believe_ who we went and saw Mickey!”

“Who?” Mickey asked, non-plussed.

“You’ll never guess it,” Rose told him somewhat smugly and the Doctor rolled his eyes good humouredly.

“Well maybe you’d better tell me then,” Mickey said patiently. “I’m rubbish at guessing games.”

Rose leant forward, lowered her voice, and then spilled the proverbial beans. “ _DriveShaft_.”

“No way!”

“Yes way! That’s not the best bit though...” Rose flapped her hand at the Doctor to garner his attention. “You still got the CD in your jacket?” The Doctor grumbled and it took him several minutes of rummaging through his multitude of pockets but eventually he located the CD case and after wiping something that looked suspiciously like apricot jam off it he offered it to Mickey. “Look,” Rose said, triumphantly leaning across the table to jab a finger at it. “Autographed an’ everything.”

“No kidding?” Mickey’s eyes popped. “Oh my God! That’s got Charlie Pace’s signature on it! He’s the bassist!”

“I know!” Rose squealed. “I met him!”

Mickey looked up at her, still agog, and stabbed a finger at the CD case in his hand. “You know this is worth a fortune right?”

“What you mean?” Rose asked, oblivious.

“Well...he’s dead – the bassist that is.” Mickey said but at Rose’s shocked expression he elaborated slightly. “It was all over the news – a plane crash or something. Yeah. It happened a year or two back. Don’t you remember?”

“Oh,” Rose deflated slightly. “Yeah. I remember now.”

There was a long silence between the four of them.

“You alright?” the Doctor finally asked, his voice a tentative mixture of gruff tenderness.

“Yeah...s’just...” Rose paused and as her demeanour crumpled further Jack put a protective arm around her shoulders and took the opportunity to glare at Mickey.

“I don’t like this guy,” he whispered loudly to the Doctor and Rose. “He’s a bit of a party pooper.”

Rose gave a tiny smile at this but Mickey didn’t look pleased.

“Yeah well _this guy’s_ got ears.” he said sourly.

“And terrible fashion sense too apparently,” Jack shot back immediately, eyeing Mickey’s jacket with disdain. “Fake fur? I mean really...”

“At least I don’t tuck my shirt in,” Mickey snorted. “Who picked out your gear anyway – your mum?”

“Oi, behave you two!” the Doctor interjected loudly. “You’re like a pair of bickering children.”

The two men looked momentarily stunned at this assessment and then they took to glaring at each other. Rose glanced sideways at the Doctor and they shared an exasperated look.

“Thanks though,” Mickey said, finally breaking eye contact with Jack. “For the CD. S’great.”

“S’fine,” Rose said faintly and then Jack barrelled back into the conversation with about as much subtlety as a rampaging bear.

“Well then – shall we get off this topic and onto something a little more fun? Did I ever tell you guys about the time...?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Desmond isn’t the only time traveler that Charlie Pace ran into during his time as a rock star. Two different Doctors and two different reasons bring Rose Tyler into his life.

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/155122168@N03/37167470922/in/album-72157688618079026/)

Rose had been playing Mickey’s stupid CD at full blast in her room for hours now and the Doctor had long since run out of things to tinker with in the console room. The truth was that the TARDIS was well and truly fixed after her crash landing in a parallel universe had almost killed her – but with the state Rose was in at the moment...well he was inclined to give her some space and if that meant extra time for the TARDIS then he knew his rather magnificent time ship wouldn’t complain.

Not that it hadn’t been difficult to fix her up again – with a bit of creative mechanical work and some bastardised parts scavenged from around London, the Doctor had patched the TARDIS up sufficiently to once again start travelling the furthest reaches of the galaxy. When he announced this notion to his companion however, Rose had merely huddled further into the couch and changed the channel on the television.

She’d been somewhat upset since Mickey had...well maybe upset was the wrong word. If the Doctor had to choose one he’d probably go more with mopey-self-flagellation which was really three words, even if you did say them really really fast...but that was beside the point. And really, as of late only pertained to the time that had passed since Mickey had stayed behind which, in relative time had been maybe...ooh two weeks at most?

Two weeks with the TARDIS parked in Jackie’s living room. This fact alone was enough to make the Doctor feel more than a little bit desperate. His feet were itching with the need to be moving on again but Rose was so stuck in her funk that nothing seemed likely to rouse her anytime soon and god knows both he and Jackie had tried.

It took close to two and a half weeks but when Rose finally decided that it was about time to head back into the vortex again her announcement was met with simultaneous cries of “Thank god!” from her mother and companion both. Once packed, Rose kissed her mother goodbye as if in a daze and then she sloped into the TARDIS, the Doctor bounding on his toes behind her, eager to be off.

“Oi you,” Jackie grabbed his elbow as Rose disappeared inside, lugging her bag. “I want a word with you.”

“Jaaaaackie,” the Doctor groaned, tugging futilely at her grasp.

“Oh shut it would you?” Jackie said sharply, tugging the door shut and then forcibly steering him away from the TARDIS. The Doctor eyed her desperately but Jackie gave his arm a quick shake to get his attention. “And stop pouting, this’ll only take a second.”

“Literally a second?” the Doctor pressed but then shrank back when Jackie glared at him. “Right. Sorry. Carry on!”

“It’s about Rose.”

The Doctor eyed Jackie Tyler warily. He was not altogether certain that he wanted to be having conversations like this with Rose’s mother. “What about her?”

“She’s feelin’ guilty about what happened with Mickey.” Jackie told him quickly, glancing furtively at the doors to the TARDIS as she spoke, as though worried her daughter might come flailing back out again at any moment. “Feels like she led him on too long then made him feel like rubbish by ignoring him all the time when she was with you.”

“But she’s never told me any of that,” the Doctor said, momentarily baffled. “Why on earth would she feel like that?”

“Probably because she should,” Jackie crossed her arms at him. “If there’s one thing I know about my daughter it’s that she’s honest. She told me she was a right cow to him and that you weren’t much better.”

“He wanted to come,” the Doctor blustered defensively. “It isn’t my fault that he didn’t enjoy himself!”

“He deserved better than to be the third wheel,” Jackie countered him bluntly. “And you know it.”

The Doctor scuffed his shoe against the carpet feeling irrationally and impossibly small under Jackie’s scrutiny. This, he reminded himself, was why he had never done the whole _family_ thing before. His pride still stung when he thought about the slap Jackie had bestowed upon him in his previous body.

“Well what do you want me to do about it?” he blurted finally. “I can’t exactly pop by and pick him up again.”

“Take Rose somewhere that’ll make her feel better,” Jackie told him simply, her eyes strangely bright. “I don’t care where. Just don’t let her stew on this. She feels bad enough already.”

Assuming this was the end of the inquisition, the Doctor fled into the TARDIS and dematerialised as fast as he could. By the time he had settled them properly into the Vortex however, Rose had well and truly gone into an attack of what the Doctor had dubbed the ‘sulky-mopeys’ and she soon after disappeared into the depths of the ship. Not long after that, he began to hear the distant vibrations of music that with some careful cataloguing he identified as DriveShaft.

It appeared that during their interminable exile at the Powell Estate, Rose had made a trip to Mickey’s flat and defiled his CD collection. Lovely.

And now, after hours of becoming very attuned to one Charlie Pace’s bass riffs, the Doctor had abandoned all pretence and arrived at her door. She didn’t answer his knock and the door was ajar so he poked his head in and found her sprawled across the bed, CD blasting in the background.

“Rose.” He said to announce his presence.

She stayed exactly where she was, sprawled on her back, blonde hair spilling over the edge of the bed and her eyes shut. She seemed to be rather studiously ignoring him – or he mused, maybe she had just been deafened by the tremendous racket coming from the CD player.

“Roooooooose.” he said again, wheedling now. “Are you going to stay in here all day?”

Opening her eyes lazily, Rose saw him, sighed, and then closed them again.

“Probably.” she muttered.

The Doctor crossed the threshold then, muttering and grumbling. If she was going to continue to be like this then he may as well have stayed in London with her. At least there she had her mother to distract her and make her endless cups of teas. He’d never been all that good with all this touchy-feely-domesticy-family-y...stuff.

“Can’t you just stop being so mopey?” he wondered, flopping down next to her. Rose didn’t answer him and the Doctor sighed as he propped himself up onto his elbow. “Look,” he said after a moment and then before he quite knew it he was saying, “I know something that’ll cheer you up.”

“What’s that?” Rose frowned, rolling onto her back to look at him.

Bugger. She’d always been good at asking curly questions, his Rose.

“A trip!” the Doctor announced with a wild amount of over-enthusiasm. “Into time – and space! Isn’t that exciting?”

“I don’t really want to go on a trip right now Doctor,” Rose said flatly, turning her face away. “Can’t we just stay here?”

“Oh but this isn’t just any trip,” the Doctor informed her, dancing around the bed to grasp her hands and haul her to her feet. He was still improvising but she didn’t need to know that. “We’re going to go see something truly spectacular!”

“Do we have to?” Rose groaned as she tugged herself gently out of his grasp. “I’d rather just sleep.”

“Tough!” the Doctor said, and when she began to protest further he took her around the waist, hoisted her up on his shoulder with ease and then headed out into the corridor. “I’m taking you and that’s that.”

“Oi! Put me down!” Rose raged, smacking him indignantly and kicking her legs. “You can’t make me go anywhere I don’t want to!”

“Oh trust me,” the Doctor said, mind still racing frantically. “You’ll want to go...here. Well, there really because we’re here right now aren’t we?”

“You’re not makin’ any sense again,” Rose continued to swat at him with wild hands but he barely even noticed her blows.

“Oi, stop wriggling about would you?” he said eventually, mildly irritated as he continued to cart her along, now heading towards the wardrobe. “ _Honestly_. It’s like trying to hold onto a Moghuatyrian and believe me, that’s no mean feat.”

Rose abruptly paused in her flailing to experiment with this new word. “What’s a Mog...a Moghua...?”

“Mog-hu-a-tyrian.”

“A Moghu-a-tyrian?”

“Well it’s funny that you should ask me that Rose,” the Doctor said conversationally. “Because it’s a rather fascinating species that lives on the twin planets of Th and Tja in the Poseidon system and they look very much like a cross between a squirrel and a squid. With the way you were flailing about just then you very much resembled one.”

“Oi!” Rose said, indignantly straightening her t-shirt after he set her down. “You sayin’ I look like some...some sort of weird...tentacled... _thing_?”

“Did I tell you we’re going to a bar?” the Doctor said abruptly and tossed Rose a leather jacket. It hit her full in the face and she grumbled but reluctantly pulled it on. This was a positive sign – she was beginning to wane. “Come on then,” he said cheerfully. “First lot of drinks are on me.” Once she was suitably attired and he had changed his collar and tie for something slightly more casual, they retired to the console room and the Doctor set course for an experience that he desperately hoped would help lift Rose’s flagging spirits.

~*~

  
“Where are we?” she wanted to know the moment they stepped out of the TARDIS and into... “An _alleyway_?”

“Not just any alleyway Rose Tyler – an alleyway that leads off Oldham Street I hope,” the Doctor said hopefully as they stepped out into the street. “Manchester. England. Earth.”

“And... _when_ are we?”

“July the twenty-third. Hopefully in 1999...” the Doctor said absently, eyeing a faded posted on a nearby wall that was advertising various local music acts. “Aha! Spot on.”

“That’s a first,” Rose muttered.

“Oi!” The Doctor pretended to be wounded but he couldn’t help but notice how the corners of Rose’s lips were trying to turn upwards. She was still fighting it but at least she seemed less moody out here in the crisp night air. Moving about always seemed to do her the world of good – she wasn’t much of a sit still person.

Encouraged, the Doctor led her into a bar that Rose was only dimly aware of and he ordered drinks for both of them. She gulped down half of whatever he’d ordered for her in one go and, aware of his worried stare, Rose turned away from him to take her second gulp.

It was as she went to swallow that she noticed a clamour of movement on the small stage up the back and suddenly she caught sight of very young Charlie Pace clambering over leads and amplifiers, reaching out a long fingered hand for his bass guitar.

Rose was so taken aback that she nearly ended up with a mouthful of drink down the front of her jacket. He looked so young – so clean cut. There was no eyeliner here, no nail polish. He was dressed plainly in a faded Pink Floyd t-shirt, black Converse peeking out from beneath the tattered hems of his jeans.

“Hold on – I thought we weren’t allowed to cross our own timelines!” she turned to the Doctor accusingly. “Doesn’t this...I dunno, breach some law of time or something?”

“Well he already knows you in his future,” the Doctor shrugged and took a sip of his drink. “Why not from here? Now?”

Rose merely watched, dumbfounded, as the other members of the band took up their positions and Liam – she still remembered him vividly from their last encounter – introduced the band before they launched into the first half of their set.

Their sound was obviously still developing – they performed a lot of cover songs and they didn’t have anywhere near the same level of confidence in their performance as the first time Rose had watched them. Charlie was all but shrinking into the corner and even Liam seemed somewhat shy, awkwardly strangling the microphone stand.

The Doctor listened intently, one foot tapping restlessly and a small smile on his face. After the first set finished, he nudged Rose gently. “What d’you think?”

“I dunno,” she admitted. “I don’t get why you brought me here...well, _now_.”

“Welll...I thought it might cheer you up a bit,” the Doctor admitted, hand creeping up to rub his neck in an all too familiar gesture. “You’ve been listening to Mickey’s CD on repeat and...well music always seems better when it’s performed live I think. Welll...except for some artists which by the way I’m not going to name in case you like them and get more upset – by the way I don’t much like it when you’re upset. And Charlie seemed nice enough last time and I thought that maybe you might like to...well we’ve got a time machine after all and...I thought it’d be nice to pop in and say hello.”

Rose considered him for a moment and then the briefest presence of a smile touched the corners of her lips once again. Leaning forward, she threw her arms around him and pressed a kiss against his cheek.

“I’m guessing that this is you being cheered up?” he laughed, sounding altogether very pleased as he put his arms around her in turn and squeezed tightly. Rose nodded against his shoulder and then pulled back, their arms still around each other. She smiled shyly up at him and then to his delight it turned into a proper Rose grin, wide and bright and brilliant.

“Can we move a bit closer for the second set?” she wanted to know.

“Rose Tyler,” the Doctor announced with a grin to rival hers. “For you I would sit right next to the speakers and brave every single off-key note this lot are playing with my super sensitive hearing. And that - _that_ is saying a lot.”  


~*~

The second half of the show was briefer than the first but somehow Rose managed to clap and cheer the band into doing an encore performance, a cover of ‘Wonderwall’ in which – to her delight – Charlie actually stepped up and sang the whole song by himself with his brother backing him up for once.

He looked nervous as he sang but very pleased with himself nonetheless, especially when Rose whistled and clapped him off the stage, cheering his name. When the band made their way to the bar for drinks afterwards he split off from the group and instantly made a beeline for her, eyes sparkling.

“Wotcher,” he said, offering a hand and a wide smile that made his eyes crinkle up.

“Hello,” Rose said, beaming back at him. “You guys were brilliant.”

“We were alright,” Charlie shrugged and the Doctor took the opportunity to smile wanly and slip off to the bar. “Is that your boyfriend?”

“Not really.” Rose said somewhat awkwardly.

“Will he mind if I buy you a drink?”

Charlie’s eyes were really shining now, his whole face a picture of utterly mischievous glee and Rose blinked before grinning. She’d seen that same look on the Doctor’s face and it pushed a swell of happiness bubbling up into her body.

“Only if you promise to tell me why you were starin’ at me while you were playing,” she teased him.

“Before or after you started carrying on at the end?”

“Before,” Rose set her tongue between her teeth and waited.

Charlie raised an eyebrow. “Smile like yours? You made the whole room light up luv.”

“Well aren’t you just the charmer?” Rose laughed.

“I try,” Charlie shrugged and then beckoned the barman over. “So what’re you having then...?”

“Rose,” she told him. “Rose Tyler.”

“Hello Rose Tyler, I’m Charlie Pace.”

“I know,” she grinned. “I’m a big fan of your music.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Charlie said dryly after they had placed their orders. “Being as you’re clearly not from Manchester and I’m certain nobody outside of this place has heard of us. Where’re you from then?” he glanced over her attire quickly and then considered her. “Let me guess. London?”

“Originally yeah. I travel a lot.”

“Ooh,” Charlie grinned suddenly. “A city bird who likes to travel? Let me guess – posh family?”

“Not really,” Rose said, thinking of the Powell Estates and the modest flat she’d grown up in. It was surreal to know that elsewhere she was barely a teenager, having spats with her mother about nail polish and boys. “M’just lucky.”

“That must be nice,” Charlie said with a sigh, nodding his thanks to the barman as he placed their drinks before them. “I’ve never had any decent luck. If I had then maybe I’d’ve won the lottery by now and built us a recording studio instead of spending all my spare change buying new amps every time we break one.”

“Well we don’t really have much money to travel,” Rose admitted. “We just sort of make do. I’ve been to all sorts of places and we’ve barely spent a penny the whole time.”

“I’d love to travel,” Charlie said wistfully, toying with the rim of his glass. “See the world – you know?”

“Trust me I know,” Rose laughed and then leant forward, suddenly excited. “Where d’you want to go? I mean, if you could pick your dream tour to take the band on where would you want to go?”

Charlie considered his options for a moment, glassy eyed. “I’d love to visit Australia,” he admitted finally. “Learn how to surf. Probably America. Paris, India, Germany...”

He continued on for a while, listing countries and cities that even Rose hadn’t heard of (or travelled to). As he spoke he became more and more excited and Rose’s heart tugged with sympathy. He was so young, so hopeful. Little did he know that in five years...

“Not that we’ll ever get to choose where we go on tour,” Charlie said eventually, ruefully. “We’re not really that good – probably won’t tour any further than London – if we’re really lucky.”

“I like your music,” Rose insisted. “I think you’ve got a lot of potential.”

“That’s sweet of you luv,” Charlie smiled ruefully. “But one girl liking our music isn’t going to get us a recording contract anytime soon.”

“I’ve got a feeling,” Rose told him with a wink. “That your band is gonna go further than you could ever dream of. You’ve just got to believe in yourselves.”

“Oh yeah?” Charlie waggled his eyebrows at her. “Should I click my heels together three times and wave my magic wand as well?”

Rose laughed. “I’m serious. Things’ll go good for you soon. Trust me.”

“Wish I shared your optimism,” Charlie took another pull from his drink. “You’re the one living the dream life. How’d you get started travelling anyway?”

“By accident actually,” Rose said, smiling. “I was working in a shop and then one day this man just...appeared in my life. He swooped me up and next thing I knew I was seein’ the most amazing things. Things I never thought I’d see in a million years.”

“Sounds great,” Charlie admitted. “What’s the catch?”

“No catch,” Rose told him. “He just wanted company, someone to travel with him so he’d have someone to share it all with.”

“So he pays for it all?” Charlie pressed.

“Sort of,” Rose said evasively. “It’s...not exactly your usual kind of travelling.”

Charlie’s brow furrowed but he looked amused. “What, do you get around in a horse drawn carriage or something?”

“A big blue box actually,” Rose said and at Charlie’s expression she laughed. “You should come with us,” she blurted suddenly. “Come travelling with us.”

Charlie stared. “What – seriously?”

“Yeah. Deadly,” Rose leant forward onto her elbows. “What d’you say?”

“Your friend who isn’t your boyfriend in the snappy suit over there wouldn’t mind?”

“Course not,” Rose insisted. “We’ve had other people travel with us too. Like my friend Mickey he...”

She broke off suddenly and Charlie waited patiently for her to finish and when she didn’t he frowned. “Hey, you alright?”

Rose took a deep breath and then looked up at Charlie, choking slightly on her words. “Not really. He doesn’t travel with us anymore because...well because of me. I was a right proper cow to him and he just got sick of it all. Found something better to do with himself – something that didn’t involve me.”

“What’d you do to him?” Charlie asked, surprised. “Make him run along behind this blue box of yours? Put him on the roof rack?”

Rose laughed humourlessly. “No. I just...I led him on a bit when I shouldn’t’ve and now I think I might’ve lost him.”

“Is that what you’re doing to me?” Charlie wanted to know and suddenly he looked quite serious, his eyes darkening. “Leading me on? Telling me stories, trying to get me to travel with you?”

Rose mouthed soundlessly at him. “I didn’t mean...”

“Listen,” Charlie interrupted her. “I know we only just met and everything but...this Mickey bloke? Whatever happened, whatever you did – you obviously feel like an arse about it right?”

“Yeah,” Rose said, sniffing slightly.

“Does he know that you feel like that?”

“No.”

Charlie shrugged and laughed. “So go tell him then.”

“It’s not that simple,” Rose insisted. “He’s not exactly living down the road anymore.”

“You travel though,” Charlie pointed out. “Can’t you and pinstripes make a detour?”

“Not when he’s half a world away from us,” Rose muttered.

“Well who’s being a negative Nancy now eh?” Charlie nudged her and indicated that the barman should top up her glass. “Five minutes ago you were telling me that my luck was going to change and now you’re all mopey about some bloke you used to fancy.” Rose startled slightly when he lifted a hand, but he did nothing more remarkable than touch her hair softly. “You travel long enough luv, you’ll bump into him again. Right time, right place and all that.”

Rose said nothing, turning his words over in her head. “Right time,” she echoed.

“Right place,” Charlie affirmed and took his hand back, grimacing when he caught sight of the time on his watch. “Speaking of which, I have to head back to mine soon. Sleep and food and all that. Same old bollocks, you know.”

Rose glanced over at where the Doctor was creating a tower out of cocktail umbrellas, a bemused barman looking on. “Yeah. I think I’d better stop him before he hurts himself,” she admitted, turning back to Charlie with a wry grin. “Every time I let him out of my sight he does something daft.”

“I can imagine,” Charlie said dryly. “Never trust a man in a suit.”

They went to shake hands but at the last moment, Rose hugged him instead and she felt him smile against her neck.

“If you’re around for the next gig you should come,” Charlie said as he pulled back, touching his thumb to the tip of her nose. “In the meantime cheer up yeah? You’re too pretty to not be smiling.”

He smiled at her and Rose couldn’t help but break out into a grin in return. “Oh don’t you worry,” she told him. “You’ll be seeing me again one day. Keep an eye out when you make it down to London.”

And with that she waved cheekily at him and headed back to the Doctor, thoroughly enjoying the look of puzzled bewilderment on Charlie’s face.

~*~

  
The Doctor was uncharacteristically quiet as they walked back to the TARDIS together, Rose slipping her hand into his for the first time in days but once they were in the Time Vortex and Rose was beginning to get worried he chimed in with, “You know what? I think I’m in the mood for a bit more rock and roll.”

“Oooh...the Rolling Stones?” Rose guessed hopefully. “What about the Beatles? I always fancied meeting John Lennon – mum’d be so jealous!”

“How about Elvis?” he grinned at her across the console and then with a yank on the handbrake, the TARDIS began hurtling through time and space.

“Elvis!” Rose squealed breathlessly once they’d bumped to a stop and she’d picked herself up off the floor. “ _The_ Elvis Presley?”

“Better go find yourself some fifties garb from the wardrobe,” the Doctor crossed his arms and grinned smugly. “I’ll wait here shall I?”

“I’ll be back in a minute!” Rose stretched up on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek before dashing out of the console room.

The Doctor shook his head at her, but he was chuckling nonetheless. A minutes worth of getting ready for Rose would doubtlessly be closer to forty. Not that he minded – anything to make this girl smile.


End file.
